Day Trip to Muscat, Oman (Part II)

If we've met at one of my recent craft shows, you'll know that I did some beach combing while in Muscat.  (Yes, I walked around all day with a quart of shells and pebbles in my backpack.)  I've made a few things out of the shells.  Not sure what I'm doing with the pebbles yet, but I digress.

As you may or may not know, at this point in my day trip, I hopped on a Red Bus... it was nearly lunch time but as I'd just killed nearly 2 hours at a coffee shop, I wasn't hungry.   Here's how the rest of the day went:

Beautiful resort area.  Wish I had time to lay on the beach and do nothing for a few hours.

Driving through Muscat.  There are laws regarding building height, color, and architectural style.  The intent is to preserve the "old" culture look and to spread horizontally rather than vertically.

We got stuck in tons of traffic which put the tour bus behind schedule.  I used the time to take a nap.

I woke to a cool breeze as we drove back down the mountainside...

Driving through more mountains.  Very beautiful when you've been living on a completely flat island for a year.

Dhow.  Near the Parliament and other government buildings.

Oman's coastline has some really great natural harbors.

Residential area.  Note the turret on the mountain.  There are many forts in this part of Muscat, built hundreds of years ago to protect the fishing villages and ports.

Al Alam Palace, home of the Sultan. Breathtaking grounds in the "Old Town" area of Muscat.

An old fort up on the hill, overlooking the palace.  (One of many.)

Beautiful pass through.  You can see yet another turret in the distance.  I guess there must've been a lot of invaders.

Found a hidden harbor behind the palace.  There's another tower at the end of the ridge.

Once you walk through town and over another mountain pass, you come upon the Corniche, which is a nice walk along the harbor, with lots of shops and places to eat.

Gorgeous view of the bay as you walk along the Corniche.

Near the end of the Corniche is Mutrah Souq.  It's not really big, which is good for people like me who get turned around easily.  There were some really interesting shops including those selling lapidary and other jewelry making tools.  I bought some Frankincense, pashmina scarves, perfume, and a cool dragon padlock.

By this point in the day, it was getting dark.  I decided to head back to Qurum Beach since it's the closest stop on the Red Bus to the airport.

Back where I started, in Qurum.  Watched the sun set, had some dinner and dessert, then did some shopping and headed back to the airport.

I really enjoyed my trip to Muscat.  I wish I had time to stay over at least one night and maybe take a little more time to see some of the museums and other buildings... but hey, I had the chance to go and I did.  :)  If I'm ever over in that part of the world again, I'd really love to see Salalah.

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Yemeni picture agate with cross. Struggling to find the right lighting capture the beauty of these stones.

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A funny picture fromour last trip to the Norfolk Zoo. Might be time for another visit.

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Day Trip to Muscat, Oman (Part I)

You would think that I (being raised on an island in the middle of the Pacific with absolutely nothing else in over a thousand miles) would not be subject to 'Island Fever."  But oh man.  Bahrain is a tiny island.  It's flat.  The cab fares are insanely high.  The drivers are insane.  And when you work EVERY SINGLE DAY, there's not a whole lot of variety in the activities and experiences that are accessible.  So one weekend, I totally blew off work and flew to Oman for the day.  I left on a 2 am flight and returned around midnight.  It was exhausting but a much needed change of scenery.  First, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise on the beach, followed by a terrific breakfast at the Intercontinental.

Then, I had the hotel concierge help me negotiate a cab over to the Grand Mosque.  Cab fares are standard but not published in Oman, so you have to know what the fare is.  It's a lot less stressful of an experience than it is in Bahrain, where you never know who's going to attempt to rip you off.  (And in Bahrain, if a man calls the police on a woman and says she's been cursing or attacked him, guess who's going to jail?  Although I imagine it's the same in Oman, I also feel like it's less likely for someone to lie to the police about a foreigner out of spite.)  Anyway, this mosque is much larger than the one in Bahrain.  There is no way I could come close to capturing the beauty and intricate detail here.

 

But, it was hot and I had to wear a scarf to cover my hair, plus long sleeved shirt and slacks... so after walking around for about 45 minutes, I was ready to head back over to the resort area.  After killing 2 hours of my life trying to figure out how to do it, I jumped on a Red Bus Tour.  I pre-purchased the ticket online, because it seemed much more economical than commissioning a cab for the day.  Just so you know, you have to look for the tour agent OUTSIDE on a sidewalk at one of the predesignated meeting areas... which is not every stop... a detail that is not readily apparent on their website.  (In Muscat, stop #1 and stop #3 are the only places you can start your tour.)  Sheer dumb luck, the Intercontinental was next to a shopping area that had a Red Bus stop WITH an agent.  The nice people at Costa Coffee figured out that I was clueless and pointed me in the right direction.  I was a little disappointed to be starting on the tour with most of my morning already gone, but the self paced tour ended up being a pretty convenient option for what I wanted to do.  More on that later...

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Qurum Beach (Muscat, Oman) shell jewelry by Simply Leilani. Simply Leilani creates beach inspired artisan jewelry made by hand, using mixed media and techniques ranging from traditional Japanese arts to silversmithing. All designs are original and produced as one of a kind or very limited edition runs.

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Happy New Year! May 2014 be full of blessings and joy!

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Green Beach Glass and Dolphin FIligree Pendant

76.50 USD, by SimplyLeilani



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Mele Kalikimaka from Simply Leilani!

Hope your day is filled with peace, happiness, and good food, wherever you are!
 Please visit my Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!

An Interesting Find at the Pembroke Mall Christmas Craft Fair

If there's one thing I've learned this month, it's that you need to talk to the other craft fair vendors about which shows are "good" and which ones are not.  There was a large one at Pembroke Mall this past weekend, which everyone was talking about.  It was a two day fair.  I chose to do smaller craft show at Red Mill Elementary School and watch the Army-Navy game on Saturday, then check out the larger show on Sunday.

I took my daughter with me and we went in search of gifts for the boys.  I won't tell you what we got them just yet, but there were tons of vendors.  Most were reselling things they either bought wholesale or via direct marketing companies (IE Tupperware, Avon, etc.)  I did, however, come upon a lady who was selling potholders and other sewn goodies.  We started talking to her because she had DumDums, which is like a magnet for little kids.  Anyway, in a corner of her table, she had a display of really awesome silver jewelry, each piece under $10.  WAAAAY underpriced.  Turns out, her father in law was a silversmith and when he passed, the inventory was split among the grandchildren.  The work was breathtaking and I would've snapped up several pieces for study and inspiration.  Of course, she only took cash and this was after we'd bought our gifts, so I could only pick one.

Although this is a design and size I would never wear, I very much admire the delicate work that went into this piece.  Every last part of this ring was made by hand, and I most definitely would have "burned through" the delicate scroll work.  Not to mention, the stones are of excellent quality- peridot, garnet, and rutilated quartz.  Honestly, I didn't realize the quartz was rutilated until I had a chance to see it in the sun.  There were some pretty spectacular bails and bezels, and more valuable stones in some of the other pieces... however, the work in this piece shows a lot of patience and confidence.  It's easy to take a proverbial "sledgehammer" when silversmithing by using too much solder and blasting it with the torch, "just to be sure the joints are really joined," and then there is knowing that you really did cut that jumpring exactly the right size and that the joint is strong.

I'm getting there.

I just need to remember to be patient.

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Behind the Scenes: Branding and packaging

In case you were wondering, in addition to making the jewelry, I also design and produce all the lovely packaging that goes with your purchase.  I realize packaging tends to be an afterthought to customers, and really, it should be- however, it is important to me...  

There is an actual design process (beyond simply picking what is aesthetically pleasing).  It's time consuming, but having the flexibility to design packaging around the product not only looks better, but helps keep costs down by minimizing shipping weights and protecting your purchase.

  

I use my lovely Silhouette Cameo to make many of the pendant and earring hang cards, as well as all the stickers.  (I made my own print and cut files for each type of jewelry.)  Some of it gets printed professionally (using Vistaprint or Zazzle), but all of it is designed by me and gets some sort of handmade touch prior, whether punching holes, cutting, and/or folding by hand.  

When possible, I purchase materials (cardstock, merchandise bags, tissue paper, etc.) that are at least partially made of recycled products.  My volume is small compared to most corporations, but I figure every little bit helps.

Much of what goes into designing the jewelry and packaging is based on customer feedback, so please know that if you ever have an issue, I will do my best to resolve it to your satisfaction... It's extremely helpful to know whether or not I'm on the right track.  If process improvements can be implemented, I'll at least try it out.  (That's one thing I love about running my own business.  Try to implement a process improvement in the military based on a single piece of feedback when you're middle management and see how long it takes!)

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